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AMERICAN BIRDING ASSOCIATION

ABA Scholarships
Wildbird/Clements Memorial Scholarship
Richard E. Andrews Memorial Scholarship

ABA SCHOLARSHIPS

The American Birding Association provides scholarships to help young people who are interested in birds to attend summer camps, workshops, training programs, IFO Workshops, conventions and other bird-related activities. The funds for our scholarships come from these main sources:

• Donations from generous ABA members
• Annual donations from Bushnell Sports Optics Worldwide, Brunton, Leica Sport Optics, Pentax, Swarovski Optik, N.A.
• Pledges from members and others for ABA/Leica Tropicbirds

In 2007 we helped eleven young birders attend the ABA Young Birders' Conference in Fort Collins, CO and VENT’s Camp Chiricahua. You can find some details about available camps on this web site, plus reports from young birders on their camp experiences.* (If you know of another activity that you would like to attend that might qualify for an ABA scholarship, please let us know.)

To apply for a scholarship:

• First, you need to determine which camp or program you want to attend.
• Then you'll need to draw up a budget and make sure you can afford to attend. Discuss this with your parents/guardian, and with your teachers.
• Finally, you should contact the organizers of your event and register your intent to attend. 

Applications for 2008 events are open as of February 1, 2008.

We need a letter of recommendation from a teacher, mentor, or bird club member that should cover what they know about your commitment to birds and birding. The letter should be mailed directly to the American Birding Association, Education Department, and should be received no later than April 30, 2008. This letter should arrive separately from the rest of your application materials and needs to be sent directly from the writer to the ABA.

We also require you write a short essay, no longer than two sides of letter-size paper, telling us about the importance of birds in your life. Do you try to teach others about birds? Do you draw the birds you see? Do you do any survey or volunteer work? Is listing the most interesting thing to you? We want to know what it is about birds that really turns you on. Include information about why you want to attend your chosen event in your essay and what you hope to learn.

Be sure your application form, essay, and letter of recommendation arrive at ABA by April 30, 2008. Send to Lori L. Fujimoto, Youth Scholarships, American Birding Association, 4945 N 30th St, Suite #200, Colorado Springs, CO 80919.

* Scholarship recipients are to write a report about their experience at the conclusion of their event to be posted on this website. Recipients who do not complete a report may not be considered for future scholarships.

WildBird/Clements Memorial Scholarship

In appreciation for the tireless work of Dr. James Clements and with the support of Karen Clements, WildBird magazine offers a $500 scholarship to benefit a participant of an ABA young birder event.

Dr. James Clements (1927-2005) pursued a life steeped in birds. His passion took him around the world, and his doctoral thesis in 1975 turned into Birds of the World: A Checklist, available soon in its sixth edition from Cornell University Press. After retiring from a career in printing, Jim founded Ibis Publishing Co., which released numerous books about waterfowl and other birdlife throughout the Western Hemisphere as well as Antarctica. His dedication to ornithology and birding included a fund-raising venture for the Los Angeles Natural History Museum's Schreiber Hall of Birds; he gathered monetary pledges for each species seen in a calendar year and donated the funds to the museum. The Iquitos Gnatcatcher even bears his name: Polioptila clementsi.

To apply for the WildBird/Clements Memorial Scholarship:

• Please use all ABA scholarship forms and guidelines to apply for a WildBird/Clements Memorial Scholarship.
• Write "WildBird/Clements Memorial Scholarship" at the top of your application form.
• In your essay, add a short explanation about why you believe that you in particular qualify for the Clements scholarship.

Your application form, essay and letter of recommendation must arrive by April 30, 2008, at Youth Scholarships/American Birding Association, 4945 N. 30th St. Suite #200, Colorado Springs CO 80919.

Richard E. Andrews Memorial Scholarship

Richard E. Andrews, a long-time member of the ABA, was particularly interested in studying birds, identifying them in the field, and encouraging young people in their endeavors. Carrying out his wishes, Richard's wife Anne, and their children, generously donated his extensive collection of books about birds and birding to the ABA library, now the Richard E. Andrews Library, Claudia Wilds and Ted Parker Memorial Collection, for the birding community to enjoy. In addition, the 2004 publication of the ABA Birder's Field Notebook Manual was underwritten by the Richard E. Andrews Memorial Fund.

In honor of Richard E. Andrews, and to carry out his interests in birding and encouraging young people, Mrs. Andrews has been funding young birder scholarships. These special, need-based, scholarships are to provide financial assistance to young birders, ages 14-18, for ABA events such as conferences, workshops, and conventions which they otherwise could not attend.

To apply for a Richard E. Andrews Memorial Scholarship:

• Please use the ABA scholarship forms and guidelines to apply for an Andrews Memorial Scholarship.
• Write "Richard E. Andrews Memorial Scholarship" at the top of your application form.
• In your essay, add a short explanation about why you believe that you in particular qualify for the Andrews scholarship.

Your application form, essay and letter of recommendation must arrive by April 30, 2008, at Youth Scholarships/American Birding Association, 4945 N. 30th St. Suite #200, Colorado Springs CO 80919.